It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland was created on 1 January 1801.
Catholics were excluded from taking seats in Parliament until 1829 and there was a restrictive property based franchise.
In these circumstances most MPs came from a limited number of Protestant aristocratic and gentry families.
It was only in 1880, at the end of the period when this constituency existed, that the Liberals first won a seat in the county.
Notes: The single-member elections in this constituency took place using the first past the post electoral system.